Approach SC panel for Bar Council poll procedure, directs Madras High Court

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed that the request for fee concessions for persons with disabilities contesting the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Bar Council elections should be placed before the Election Monitoring Committee appointed by the Supreme Court.

In the case filed by advocate SM Vetrivel, he sought a direction that in the 2025-26 Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Bar Council elections, at least one of the 25 total seats be reserved for persons with disabilities with not less than 40 per cent disability, as mandated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

He also requested that such candidates be exempted from or granted concessions in the payment of the Rs 1,25,000 election fee.

When the petition came up for hearing before the bench comprising Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice M Jothiraman, senior counsel T Gouthaman and counsel S Deepika submitted that their intention was not to delay or obstruct the election, but to ensure that the legal rights were secured through proper implementation of reservation.

They further argued that since there was very little time left, even if their demands for the upcoming election could not be considered by the Election Committee, the reservation should be implemented effectively at least in future elections.

The Bar Council's side argued that it was pointed out that the Supreme Court had fixed April 30 as the deadline for completing the election process and had appointed a three-member committee headed by retired Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Rajiv Shakdher, to monitor the elections.

After hearing both sides, the judges observed that since the Supreme Court had already issued directions regarding the conduct of the Bar Council elections, no other court could intervene. The bench then directed that the petitioner may approach the Election Monitoring Committee constituted by the Supreme Court for redressal of his requests and disposed of the petition.